Tracy Press

A father and son team of Philpotts takes to the Altamont Motorsports Park track this weekend.

Father-son racing team David and Justin Philpott will return to the track at Altamont Motorsports Park this weekend for the second round of the Big Dogs combination NASCAR Whelen All-American Series and Westcar Late Model Series.

The duo, both driving TaxBrain.com-sponsored Chevrolet Monte Carlos, will be among the 32 racers competing for the $2,000 first-place award, part of the $18,425 purse for the 75-lap race on the half-mile paved oval Sunday.

David Philpott said they aren’t worried so much about gathering points to advance in any of the racing series, but the drivers who are going for the season championships will be there.

"We don’t run all of the races. We pick and chose the ones we go to. This is a bigger one," he said. "It’s pretty much all the competition on the West Coast."

He’s confident that he and his son will do well in Sunday’s main event. At the last local race May 24, Justin placed 10th out of 26 entries in the 100-lap Tri-Holiday Classic, the week before he graduated from Tracy High.

David Philpott is 16th in the Altamont WLM point standings with a win and two top-five finishes in four races. Justin is 21st, with four starts and a top-10 finish at Altamont.

Jason Gilbert of Pleasanton, Guy Guibor of Manteca and Andrew Livengood of Richmond are the top-three points leaders in the Altamont WLM standings after six races, and all will be in Sunday’s main event.

Other racers include Jason Fensler of Pleasanton, winner of the first Big Dogs race at Altamont on April 5, and Dallas Glen of Fresno and Chet Danberg of Carson City, co-leaders in the Westcar WLM points standings.

John Philpott — David’s father, Justin’s grandfather and caretaker-mechanic for the family’s racecars — said he expects this will be the year his grandson begins to collect wins in the main events at local tracks. The WLM series is a tougher challenge for the young racer, who already has a collection of wins.

"He hasn’t won yet in the main event, and that’s what we want," John Philpott said. "This class is a little different. We’re trying to get Justin up the ladder into a higher class."

Other events at Altamont Motorsports Park include the 30-lap American Limited Stock Car race, the 30-lap Grand American Modifieds and the 100-lap Enduro road course race, the last of which includes a challenge race between Channel 31 Good Day Sacramento reporter Alan Sanchez and Dennis Dalton from the Jackson Rancheria Casino and Hotel.

WHAT: Big Dogs Round 2

WHEN: Noon Sunday

WHERE: Altamont Motorsports Park, 17001 Midway Road

TICKETS: $20 general admission; $10 seniors, kids ages 10 through 16 and military

INFO: 925-371-RACE or www.nocetigrupe.com

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